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Many helpless Muslim women, babies, children and elderly are losing their lives only because Muslims have failed to unite under one grand alliance. In consideration of the fact that Islam is the religion of peace and brotherhood, we wish and expect the month of Ramadan we are in to bring about a period of enlightenment and prosperity similar to that of the Era of Welfare, in which all disagreements and hostilities are cast aside, all lovelessness, resentments, disputes and conflicts come to an end for good. It is our prayer that the Islamic civilization, which will establish the reign of peace and justice on earth and offer a beautiful life to both Muslims and non-Muslims, to flourish once again and illuminate the world with its light.

In the Qur’an, God commanded all Muslims to unite and to love and regard each other as brothers and sisters, to be compassionate, merciful and protective towards one another, and to strictly avoid separation and division.
Hold fast to the rope of God all together, and do not separate. Remember God’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire and He rescued you from it. In this way God makes His Signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will be guided. (Surah Al’ Imran, 103)

“God loves those who fight in His Way in ranks like well-built walls.” (Surah as-Saff, 4)

As can be clearly understood from these verses – and from the Qur’an in general – it is an absolute religious duty of all Muslims to stand united, to be committed to one another in brotherly love and compassion, to become the guardians of one another, to protect and look after one another regardless of the circumstances, to wage an intellectual struggle against denial like well-built walls, to offer counsel to one another and to refrain from internal quarrels and disputes.

Displaying the opposite attitude, namely being divisive rather than unifying, failing to treat other Muslims with love and compassion, to be forgiving and protective towards them, and not waging an intellectual struggle against irreligion are explicitly unlawful deeds.

Muslims abiding by the commandment of God and fulfilling their religious duty of unification is the only way that will render the Islamic community powerful and stable. It is an obligation for Muslims to act together towards illuminating the whole world with the messages of love and peace commanded by Islam. Failing to fulfill this religious duty means separation and disarray among the Islamic community, which leaves the aggrieved Muslim nations vulnerable. In Syria, Palestine, Kashmir, East Turkestan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Patani, Moro and many other places, women, children and the elderly are helplessly in need of being saved from oppression. The responsibility of these helpless people rests, before all else, on the Islamic world. Muslims should always keep in mind our Prophet’s (saas) words,”A Muslim does not wrong another Muslim, nor does he hand him over to one who does him wrong,” and together, lead his brothers under oppression to salvation.

The Muslims of the world failing to establish unity is the primary shortcoming underlying all of the problems we see in the Islamic world today. In the case that a powerful union is established, it is clear that problems similar to those faced today will no longer be encountered, or even if they are, it will not take long before they are resolved.

The fact is that differences in views, opinions and practices may appear in every society. It is only natural that the Islamic world is also home to many different cultures, traditions and perspectives. What is truly important is to reach a pluralist solidarity around common faith despite all the differences. According to the Qur’an, Islamic moral values prescribes that Muslims are brothers regardless of their circumstances and conditions no matter their race, language, country, sect, or opinion; all Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Therefore, every difference in the Islamic world should be considered a wealth of culture and civilization rather than making them into issues that would result in disputes and separation among Muslims.

Islamic moral values promote unity, not separation. A Muslim community claiming superiority over another Muslim community and pursuing its own social interests rather than the common interest of all Muslims is a mentality that flies in the face of the Islamic moral values. For that reason, Muslim communities must cast aside all their disagreements and differences aside for the sake of the common benefit of Islam, keep in mind the fact that all Muslims have been joined by God in the bond of ‘brotherhood’, and act accordingly.

Muslims are the friendsand helpersof each other, the party of God who are obliged to dispense peace and justice on earth. Seeing each other in this light and cooperating with one another through love and affection is a religious responsibility laid upon all Muslims When Muslims achieve this unity without discriminating between denominations and sects, they will have fulfilled the commandment “Hold fast to the rope of God all together, and do not separate…” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 103) Muslims holding fast to one another and standing undivided will rapidly disperse the sedition and mischief clouding over the Islamic world.

Muslims’ power, strength and interests obviously lie in the unity of love entrenched in religion. Our Prophet (SAW) underlined the significance of unity among Muslims in one of his hadiths as follows:

“… Do not envy one another, and do not hate one another, and do not turn away from one another, but [rather] be servants of God and brothers [amongst yourselves].”

Without doubt, the Islamic world will become powerful only when it bands together and acts in concert. When the Islamic community is suffering in great misery and millions of oppressed Muslims are desperately awaiting salvation, the number one priority should be the elimination of the mischief of separation.
(IbnMajah, Volume 10, p. 32.)